One Short Date
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: This was it. He was finally going to do it. Fiyero Tiggular was going to ask Elphaba Thropp out on a date... he just wasn't telling her it actually was a date. Fluffy Shiz-era Fiyeraba one-shot.


**AN: Because you all know I am a super self-centered person, I wrote myself a happy Fiyeraba birthday one-shot. Happy birthday to me! :P**

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><p>This was it.<p>

It had been months since he had gotten to know her and weeks since he fell in love with her. He had spent equally as many weeks trying to figure out what to do. Breaking up with Galinda had been the first step, but that's where he got stuck… because how do you tell your ex-girlfriend's best friend, not to mention the most mocked and insecure person at Shiz, that you want to take her on a date? There were so many things that could go wrong, especially knowing her temper.

After pondering the situation carefully for all these weeks, he had made a list of all the things that could possibly happen if he just stepped up to Elphaba and asked her out. Just so he knew what he could expect and could prepare for it.

1. She would laugh at him.

2. Galinda would find out and kill him for breaking up with her because he fell in love with her best friend (she didn't know that was the reason he had broken up with her. No-one knew he was in love with Elphaba yet).

3. Galinda would be fine with it, but Elphaba would kill him for breaking up with Galinda because he fell in love with her best friend (he knew how fiercely loyal she was, especially to Galinda, so this option seemed equally likely as Galinda killing him herself).

4. She'd tell him she is in love with someone else.

5. She'd slam the door in his face.

6. She'd get mad at him because she won't believe him. (Unfortunately, he knew this scenario to be pretty likely as well.)

7. She'd hex him (either intentionally or unintentionally).

8. She would say no. (Though then again, it was very likely that the first seven scenarios would end with her saying no, too.)

9. She would say yes.

10. She would tell him she didn't actually like men, but was in love with Galinda instead (that would be kind of hot, but he was pretty sure that this scenario was not going to happen, especially since he had come up with it when he had been drunk a few nights before).

So here he was, head-over-heels in love, and yet unsure of what to do about it. He wanted to do _something_; he was just so afraid to lose her friendship. Of course he wanted more than just that, but he'd rather have her as a friend than not at all.

And now he was standing in front of her door, having impulsively decided that it was now or never. He felt like a boy again, asking a girl on a date for the first time… except this wasn't the first time – Oz, he'd asked more girls out on dates than he could count by now – so why was he feeling so Oz-forsaken nervous?

_Because this one is different_, a voice whispered in his head. _Because you never cared about those other girls, but you love Elphaba._

He shushed the stupid voice and took a deep breath.

Then he knocked on the door.

It seemed like he stood there forever; but in reality, not even ten clock-ticks passed before she opened the door herself and smiled at him. Oz, she was so beautiful. Her midnight black hair looked like spun silk as it gently flowed down her shoulders and back, all the way to her waist – he loved it when she wore it loose. Her smile, which revealed her pearly white teeth, completely dazzled him. Her skin seemed to glow and her dark brown eyes sparkled. Her lips were a bit darker green than her skin. They looked so soft…

He caught himself leaning in a little and licking his lips, and he pulled back so quickly he nearly stumbled and fell over backwards. _Get it together, Tiggular!_

"Hi," he said dumbly.

She chuckled. "Hi." She looked at him questioningly, then realised she was blocking the door and hurriedly stepped aside. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure." He cleared his throat and walked into the room, standing there awkwardly as she closed the door and turned around.

He gave her a nervous grin. "So, um…" _It's not that hard. "I got us tickets for the theatre tonight – would you go with me?" Just do it. You don't even have to mention the word 'date'._

But he wanted her to know that this _was _a date, and not just a friendly gesture.

"I've got two theatre tickets," he said. "For tonight."

She nodded, waiting for him to go on.

He wanted to mention the date thing, he really did… but he chickened out at the last moment.

"I was supposed to go with Avaric," he rambled, "but he blew me off just now, so I was wondering if you'd maybe… um… I mean, I don't have anyone to go with and…"

She raised an eyebrow, one hand on her hip. He loved her looking sassy like that.

Oh, who was he kidding? He loved her, no matter how she looked or what she did.

"Do you maybe want to go with me?" he asked, his heart in his throat. "To the theatre, I mean? Tonight? Since I got an extra ticket, and all…"

She blinked. "Really?" Slowly, a smile lit up her face. "I'd love to," she said. "I've never been to the theatre before."

He gaped at her, incredulous. "What?"

She shrugged. "No-one ever took me," she said. "I'd have gone myself, but I don't really have the money… Father only provides me with the necessary budget for me to purchase my books and make myself look presentable, but that's all. He says my tuition is expensive enough and I'm only here to care for Nessa, anyway, not to do fun things for myself… and Nessa, unfortunately, doesn't like the theatre." She smiled at him. "It's really nice of you to ask me, Yero. I would have thought you'd ask some other friend – Boq, maybe, or Galinda…"

He wrinkled his nose. "And listen to her squealing all night? No, thank you." _Besides, it's not her I'm in love with._

"Well… thank you." She hesitated for a moment, then gave him a brief hug. Oz, how he wished he could just hold on to her forever and never let go again, but she pulled away before he could even finish that thought.

He grinned at her, feeling giddy and knowing he probably looked stupid and way too happy right now, but he didn't care. "Great. So… I'll pick you up at seven? The show starts at eight. No, wait," he hastened to correct himself, wanting to get the most out of this now that he still had the courage. "How about I pick you up at half past five and we'll go have dinner somewhere first? I'll pay."

She looked hesitant. "I don't…"

"Please?" He used his infamous puppy eyes on her and she melted.

"Fine," she agreed. "Dinner it is. But I'm paying for my own meal."

His face fell. "Aw, Fae…"

"I'm paying for my own meal," she insisted, "or I'm not coming at all."

He grumbled, but agreed. "Fine. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah." She smiled softly as he left the room, giving her a final grin over his shoulder. "See you tonight."

He was feeling optimistic. This seemed to be going the right way.

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><p>When he went to pick her up that night, she looked absolutely stunning in a sapphire blue dress – nothing too fancy, but definitely not what she would usually wear. Her hair was held out of her face by a headband and she blushed a little when she saw the way he looked at her.<p>

He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "Wow," he finally said. "You look… amazing."

She rolled her eyes and strode past him. "Of course I do. Shall we go?"

"You really do," he protested, but she refused to acknowledge his words, so eventually he just changed the subject.

He took her to a nice restaurant in town – again, nothing fancy, but nothing too casual, either – and they made easy conversation over dinner. By the time they were finished, Elphaba excused herself to use the restroom and Fiyero quickly beckoned the waitress and paid the bill – no way he was going to let her pay for her own meal.

She scowled at him when she found out. "Why did you do that?"

He pointed at her. "Lady." He pointed at himself. "Spoilt prince with more money than he could possibly spend in a lifetime."

A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she still managed to look cross. "I'm not a lady."

He rolled his eyes.

As they started walking, he took the chance of linking his arm with hers. She stiffened a little at first, but didn't pull away; and as they walked through town to the theatre, he felt her slowly relax again.

It was a cold night, their breaths making small puffs of mist in the air. Elphaba shivered a little and Fiyero pulled her closer, rubbing her arms with his hands. When she heaved a contented sigh and leant into him a little bit more, he did a little dance in his head. This was going better than he'd hoped.

For someone so outspoken and apparently confident, she was terribly insecure, and he was always afraid that he would chase her away if he told her his real feelings for her. She tended to be jumpy at these things at the best of times. He had discovered a long time ago that she had great difficulties with emotions – both her own and others'.

She had opened up to him, though, just like she had to Galinda. He only hoped he wouldn't throw that all away by doing this… but so far, it seemed to be going well.

He smiled as he watched her take in the front of the theatre with wide eyes, holding her breath.

"My Oz," she breathed. "This is amazing."

He laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the door. "Wait until you see the actual show," he teased her, making her blush a little, even as she shoved him.

"Shut up."

He gallantly took her coat from her and led the way through the theatre and to their seats, Elphaba watching everything in fascination. As they sat down and waited for the show to start, she looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Thank you," she says. "For taking me. I'm already having the best time ever."

He laughed. "And the best part is yet to come." He wasn't talking about the show.

"It's just…" She bit her lip. "No-one ever really did this before," she admitted. "You know – take me out, insist on paying for everything… the only one ever taking me out is Galinda, and it's usually to go shopping." She made a face.

Fiyero slipped his arm back around her shoulders and squeezed softly. "As much as I hate it that no-one ever did something like this for you, I'm honoured that I can be the first," he said.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You're so sappy."

His face fell, but he didn't push her any further as the show started. She completely lost herself in it, watching everything eagerly, trying to take everything in at once. It was a great show, but Fiyero found himself distracted quite often by the gorgeous girl sitting beside him. He never thought he'd turn into a romantic wuss at some point in his life, but it seemed like it had happened to him now. He couldn't even say he minded.

During the break, he listened to her excited chattering as they went to get a drink and some fresh air before returning to their seats for the second act. The main characters of the show sang a beautiful duet and then finally kissed for the first time; and suddenly, Fiyero simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, Fae?" he whispered as he leant in close to her, his breath tickling her ear. She turned large, questioning eyes on him, and he touched her cheek and then slid his fingers down to her chin to pull her to him… and he kissed her.

She froze up for the briefest moment before responding, and he felt as if his heart might burst from his chest, it was leaping so enthusiastically. He felt completely giddy. She didn't slap him. She didn't push him away. The scenarios from his list suddenly all seemed ridiculous – except, apparently, for number nine (and number two, since he still wasn't sure how Galinda would feel about this whole thing, but he was not going to worry about that now).

He kissed her, gently capturing her lower lip between his teeth, eliciting a soft sound from her throat that he would definitely not mind hearing again. She wound her arms around his neck and he placed his on her waist, almost pulling her over the arm rest and into his lap, but he restrained himself. He could keep doing this forever.

She pulled away after a while, though, both of them breathing heavily.

"Um," Elphaba said, touching her lips with her fingers. Even in the dim light, he could see that she was blushing fiercely and he pulled her back in for another kiss.

"Fae?" he whispered, tangling his fingers in her hair. "I have a confession to make."

She tensed up and he realised with a pang that she was already expecting the worst, like she always did. With good reason, too – good things hardly ever seemed to come her way, but he was determined to change that. He brushed her jaw with his lips, slowly melting her again.

He pulled back to look into her eyes. "I'm in love with you," he told her.

She stared at him, her eyes wider than he had ever seen them.

"What?"

"You heard me," he murmured, planting kisses along her jaw line and down to her neck. He looked up at her a bit anxiously. "Please don't slap me."

Despite herself, that made her laugh; but the laugh quickly died away in her throat when she looked at him and realised he was being completely serious. "Fiyero…"

"It's why I broke up with Galinda," he admitted. "Because I realised I wasn't in love with her… I'm in love with you."

She was still staring at him in shock.

"And I couldn't keep dating her when I didn't really have any romantic feelings for her." He sighed. "I've been completely torn for a long time – I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not… but I just couldn't really hold it in anymore. I love you, Elphaba."

She looked pale and he realised she still hadn't said anything. Was that good or bad?

"Please say something," he begged her. He had waited so long to tell her this, he had been so afraid of her reaction. These were the longest few minutes of his life. Oz, he hoped she felt the same way…

She still looked like she was about to faint. "I…" She trailed off. "Fiyero…"

"Alright, you know what?" he said, her unusual speechlessness making him nervous. "We'll talk about this after the show." He had noticed the people around them giving them mildly annoyed looks already. "Then you have some more time to think about it. Okay?"

She nodded mutely and he turned back to face the stage, his mouth dry and his heart pounding. He did it. He told her. Now it was up to her.

Neither of them spoke for a while; Elphaba because she wasn't sure what to say, and Fiyero because he didn't want to push her.

A few minutes passed before she let her head drop against his shoulder. He slipped his fingers into hers and squeezed softly; she squeezed back.

That was a good sign, right?

"Yero?" she broke the silence after a while, whispering so as not to disturb the people around them.

He whipped his head around so fast he nearly cricked his neck. "Yeah?"

She raised her head to look at him and hesitated for a brief moment. Then she leant in and pressed her lips to his.

He responded immediately, kissing her back as he drew her closer to him. He mumbled against her lips, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She was blushing again. "I mean, if _you _are sure…"

"Absolutely," he said with all the certainty he felt in his voice and in his face, and she smiled softly at him.

"I love you, too," she said shyly.

He grinned widely and started kissing her again.

"Fae?" he whispered between kisses.

Her eyes were closed and her cheeks flushed. "Mmh?"

"I lied to you," he whispered. "I was never planning on going to the theatre with Avaric. I just bought two tickets and prayed to Lurline that you would agree to come with me."

She gasped softly when his lips found a sensitive spot on her neck.

"And this," he murmured, kissing her neck, "was actually a date."

She winced a little. "I… kind of lied to you, too," she confessed.

He cocked his head a little to the side inquiringly.

"I knew something was up," she said. "I ran into Avaric after you stopped by to ask me out this morning and I asked him why he couldn't go to the theatre with you. He had no idea what I was talking about."

Fiyero grimaced. "I should have thought of a better excuse."

She chuckled softly. "So I knew something was up… I just wasn't sure what. And then Galinda told me she suspected you liked me, and I didn't believe her, but… well, I guess she was right." She blushed. "But you didn't have to come up with an excuse to ask me out, Yero. I would have said yes, regardless of your reasons for asking me."

His face lit up and he kissed her again, never wanting to stop… and maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it :). Review? *birthday puppy dog eyes*<strong>


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